First off, Happy Independence Day to everyone out there! I'm happy to report that I'm having a great 3 day weekend. It started out yesterday with a solid 5.5 hour ride, followed immediately by a 25 minute run. I felt strong throughout the entire day, pushing the pace whenever I could. My lungs have pretty much healed from Boise. They are not 100%, but fairly close. I could tell this weekend that it continues to get better. Off to bed last night to be woken up at 4:30 by our alarm clock...Meghan's first half marathon was this morning!!
A friend picked us up and we were off. For me, it was all fun. I had a few new jobs: pacer, pack mule, and motivator. My goal was to try and help Meg get under 2 hours. I wore my Garmin, but after a mile or two I didn't need it. After a slow start where I had to hold her back a few times, we were dialed in to an 8:45 pace. I ran ahead to each aid station and refilled empty bottles in my fuel belt and then handed those off to Meg. I can't express how much fun the day was for me! I watched her enter into a dark place around 10 miles but she never wavered. In fact, her last two miles were her fastest 2 miles. Talk about finishing strong!! As we came around the final bend I had an enormous smile on my face as I reflected on everything she had done to overcome injuries to just get to the start line. To then execute the perfect race and come in at, wait for it, 1:56:29...well heck, she smashed it today!!
My parents were there to celebrate with. We told a few stories and then I put my fuel belt back on and headed back out on the course to find our friend Jess who had driven us over. She was doing the full marathon. I found her about 2 miles from the finish line and ran with her to the finish. Again, it was great to take on this new challenge of pacing. I thoroughly enjoyed helping Meg reach her goal. Not only did I get in my long run of 17 miles, but I got to be a part of her magical day :)
Next week will be my first race since Boise. I will be racing the Olympic Distance at Hagg Lake in Forest Grove. I'm excited to see where my fitness is. This is a great race to test your fitness as it is one of the more challenging Olympic races within the NW. An honest course which includes two loops of the lake on the bike with a few decent climbs, and a run that includes two of those hills. Until then, I will continue to put up some decent volume numbers and continue to execute an effective build for Ironman Canada. Thanks for reading,
-T
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